After years of trying to track down the family recipes in paper files, note cards, computer files, blog posts, and still not being able to find the Pumpkin Bread recipe every fall, my sister and I decided it was time to launch our own cooking blog, The Rounded Teaspoon. We thought it would be a great idea to have our recipes accessible to our family and friends 27/7!! YAY!!!! Our blog consists of recipes that have been made over and over – that are tried and true. We only share what we absolutely love and have made “a hundred times”. Here are a few of our most recent posts – I hope you enjoy these recipes, from our home to yours 🙂

Today I’m taking a little break from the sewing machine and enjoying my FAVORITE gingerbread cookies – shaped like cats! This recipe has been our family’s favorite since I was in Kindergarten! It is super easy but the most flavorful gingerbread recipe you will ever have. I just brought them to our church Christmas party and a few people were fighting over them 🙂

Amanda’s Famous Gingerbread Cookies

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1/3 cup water

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp + cinnamon

2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. salt

Cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the molasses. Next beat in the water. (it will look a little weird)

In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated.

On a floured surface roll out the dough 1/4″ thick and cut with cookie cutters. If the dough seems a little sticky, just add more flour as you are rolling out.

Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Let cool. Dip in dipping chocolate or pipe with royal icing.

Gingerbread dipped in chocolate is one of the best flavor combinations in the whole world!!!I collect little vintage cats – they sit in my kitchen window and keep an eye on the baking! I didn’t want to cover up the detail on the cats, so I just dipped their heads in chocolate 🙂

I don’t post many recipes on my blog; the only time I do is if I have made the recipe more than 10 times! I found this recipe for White Chocolate Peppermint M&M Cookies this past fall over at No. 2 Pencil. It’s a super darling blog with lots of yummy recipes, fun crafts and inspirational DIY projects.

While only half my family love mint, I needed to come up with a springy-non-mint version. Melissa at No. 2 Pencil gave me permission to post my Spring version. Here it is!

Spring M&M Double Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

14 tablespoons melted and cooled butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 bag Spring M&Ms

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter, sugars, cocoa, salt, and vanilla extract. Stir on low just until combined. Continue mixing and add egg and egg yolk. Then add flour and baking soda to bowl and stir just until dough forms. Add the cup of chocolate chips and half the bag of M&Ms.

I use a mini ice cream scoop to scoop the dough. It’s about 1 Tablespoon. Form into balls and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Use the remaining bag of M&Ms and place on the tops of the dough balls. Bake for ten minutes. Don’t over bake them. They will set up while they cool.

We fixed the cookies on cute trays and wrapped them in cellophane and took them to friends and neighbors.

I am linking this recipe up to 30 Handmade Days Blog. Mique is having everyone link up a favorite recipe – this is one of my favorites for Valentine’s Day! It is super yummy! (I have changed it slightly from others on the Internet)

Popped popcorn – I used my hot air popper and popped 2/3 cup and then another 2/3 cup. (This will be enough to fill up a roasting pan)

Lightly butter your roasting pan and place popped corn in pan making sure to sift out ALL seeds. Heat oven to 250 degrees.

Melt the above ingredients on the stove top. Bring to boil and boil for 5 minutes. (My red hots took a long time to dissolve almost the entire 5 minutes.) Turn off the heat and add 1/2 tsp. baking soda. Stir well. Pour the molten hot mixture over the popped corn and toss to coat. Place in the oven for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes. Yum!!!

Spritz cookies (or cookie gun cookies as we call them) have been a family tradition for over 50 years. My mom grew up making these cookies, I grew up making these cookies, and now they are a favorite of my children. I recently purchased this vintage Wear-Ever cookie gun – mint in the box! It was very similar to the one my mother had when she was little. I love just staring at the box 🙂

My first cookie gun was this white one from Kuhn Rikon. I loved it. It finally died from over use. So I purchased the Wilton one.

This Wilton one has not been my favorite. Evey time I used it I would remind myself to be on the look out for a new one! So this December I broke down and bought another Kuhn Rikon. I was excited to have new discs: a snowman, candy cane and pumpkin!

Here is my favorite spritz cookie recipe. It’s buttery with a hint of almond. I love making these cookies at Christmas but they are also fun at Valentine’s Day and the perfect size for Tea Parties!

Amanda’s Spritz Cookies

1 cup butter

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. (plus) Almond Extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix and use in your cookie press. Top with colored sugar sprinkles. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Enjoy!!!

This is a recipe for Eggnog Cookies using a cookie press. I only make them during the Christmas season so I look forward to them every year! I don’t like drinking eggnog, but I LOVE the flavor of eggnog!

Mix the above ingredients and use in your cookie press. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 8 minutes.

Eggnog Glaze:OK, so I don’t measure this part. Make a glaze using powdered sugar and eggnog. When it is to a nice glaze consistency, dip the tops of the cookies in the glaze and dust with more nutmeg. They are delicious!!!

Once again, The Brown Eyed Baker proves to be my favorite cooking blog ever! Her caramel sauce is amazing. I made it last night and wanted to eat the entire batch! Go to her blog for a complete step by step (with photos) tutorial. She makes her’s “salted”. I left out the salt in mine because I was taking it to a shower & not sure if the salted flavor would go over. If you just want the recipe here it is:

You heat the 2 cups of sugar in a sauce pan until it is melted. This takes a while & I was convinced it would never melt! But it does. Cook the sugar until it is a dark amberish-redding-orangish color (350 degrees) I didn’t use a thermomater – you can tell when it is cooked. If you over cook it it will taste burnt – mine was right on the fine line of not being burnt.

Then add the butter and stir in until melted. Then turn off the heat and add the cream until all mixed in. Let it sit for about 10 minutes & you’re ready to gobble it down!!

I have spent my life looking for the perfect brownie recipe from scratch. I try a brownie recipe only to find that they are dry or crumbly, or bland, or just not like the yummy box mix! I found this recipe on Brown Eyed Baker – she is amazing and recipes are amazing! She said the recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated. Wherever it’s from doesn’t matter – what matters that they are amazing! They are chewy and chocolaty and everything a brownie should be. This is now the brownie recipe I will always go to!!

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving about a one-inch overhang on all sides. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. 2. Whisk cocoa and boiling water together in large bowl until smooth. Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted. Whisk in melted butter and oil. (Mixture may look curdled.) Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla and continue to whisk until smooth and homogeneous. Whisk in sugar until fully incorporated. Add flour and salt and mix with rubber spatula until combined. Fold in bittersweet chocolate pieces. 3. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted halfway between edge and center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack and cool 1½ hours. 4. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Return brownies to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. (From Cook’s Illustrated, March & April 2010 issue)

Marshmallow Crunch Brownie BarsI found this recipe from Brown Eyed Baker and they are the best bars I have ever had! The recipe was easy to follow and they come out looking beautiful. It is my new favorite recipe!